"Hey, guys, you're making a scene."
They straightened themselves and lowered their heads. "Sorry, Sam," they said in unison.
I laughed and swatted each of them in the arm. "Back to the questions now?"
Brad cleared his throat and reset the recorder that he'd dropped. "Right. So, Sam, you can read minds, and you just recently learned to control minds. Which power do you like best or find more useful?"
"I don't like using the mind control, but reading minds isn't as fun as it sounds either." Drake tensed next to me, but I refused to acknowledge the discomfort inherent in this topic.
"Why don't you like being able to control minds? I think everyone would want that power."
"It makes me feel dirty. When...." I looked at Drake, then looked away. "When it was done to me, I realized how it felt to be powerless. I'd never want to make anyone feel that way."
But I had, just a few minutes ago, and for the pettiest of all reasons. What did that make me? Self-loathing clawed at my soul. A part of me would always be tainted by this immoral power. A power Drake also shared—and embraced. If I hated myself for what I could do, then what did I feel for the man I loved?
Drake caught my eyes, and I could see him waging his own internal war. Neither of us said anything about our run-in with Kylie, but it weighed heavily on us both for different reasons. Drake, I knew, wanted me to embrace my new powers and use them to protect myself and our baby. I wanted him to find other ways of handling conflict. I feared we would never resolve our differences, and it worried me. This power had always been a part of him; by rejecting the power, was I also rejecting the man?
Brad broke the uncomfortable silence. "Okay, what are some of your friends' para-powers?"
"My best friend, Lucy, is a human lie detector. She's a pain in the butt to be around sometimes."
Brad laughed. "I can't imagine what that's like."
I stuck my tongue out at him, then continued. "Her twin, Luke, is also my best friend. He walks through walls, or anything solid. There are teens and kids with all kinds of powers—super strength and mind control like Drake, fire starting, the ability to freeze things, seduction."
Brad's eyes perked up. "Seduction, huh? Is this a sexy girl, by chance?"
"You are such a man. Yes, she's sexy. No, you can't date her. She's a bitch."
"Okay, what else?"
"Hmm... teleporting, floating in the air, levitation—just about anything you can imagine."
"What's the worst thing you ever had to do for Rent-A-Kid?"
Five years of assignments, of spying on people with my "gift," rushed through my thoughts. The worst thing? How do you pick out the worst from a sea of awful?
Images of Tommy flooded my mind. Poor, sweet, innocent Tommy, stuck with a father whose thoughts alone had plagued my nightmares for months. The things he did to those little girls.... I shuddered.
"I was once sent to get dirt on a guy's business partner. Turns out the dirt was dirtier than anyone had imagined."
I told them about that last assignment, how I'd stood up to a client and gotten a black eye for my efforts. My thoughts drifted to Tommy and his family. Tommy's father now served time in prison, but the money had all been his mother's. Their wealth was intact but their family had been destroyed.
Now that I was free, I wanted to check on him as I had promised.
The sun beat down on the back of my neck and arms, and I could practically feel the vitamins soaking into my pale skin.
We walked past a large table with ceramic art pieces on it. I held up one of the sun and moon interlocked. "I've always loved this symbol. Wouldn't this make a cool tattoo?"
Drake raised his eyebrow but said nothing. I winked at him and we continued our walk.
"Hey, check it out." Drake laughed and motioned to a man with a sign hanging around his neck. Kick My Butt for $1.
I couldn't help but grin. "Seriously? He lets people pay him to kick him?"
"Yo, Drake, you should do it. It'd be the last ass-kicking he ever asked for." Brad eyed the guy and clicked off his recorder.
I was all talked out, and I wanted to enjoy at least some of this mostly miserable day.
"Leave him alone, you guys. Must be hard enough being him." Something else caught my eye. "Oh, let's go in there." I pointed out a big sign that read, "Venice Beach Freakshow, featuring a five-legged dog, a super tall man, a tiny little woman, a show in which another man swallows a flaming sword, and more."
We crammed into the small room and watched each "freak" demonstrate their unique abilities. The guy who shoved an entire sword down his throat impressed the boys.
"Maybe we should join the Freakshow. We might finally find a place to fit in. You could be the World's Strongest Man, and I could be the Mind Reader!"